Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid has been a head turner since Porsche whipped the sheets off it at this years Geneva Motorshow, the car has a hybrid KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) developed for them by the Williams Formula 1 team. In essence this is a flywheel that stores energy otherwise lost under braking by spinning at up to 40,000 rpm, when the boost is required the driver hits a paddle and releases 160hp of additional power to the front wheels through twin electric motors. 160hp doesn’t sound like a whole lot however the car already has a 480hp petrol engine in the back powering the rear wheels, so this hybrid has serious pulling power.

The sounds that come out of this car are unlike anything we’ve heard since the last time Han Solo hit the warp drive button in the Millenium Falcon, watch the video above with sound on and you’ll see our point. Is this the sound of future hybrid racing cars? We certainly hope so.

2 Comments

TRG

M. Lawrence

@ TRG – What the fuck are you talking about? Gearbox whine? If that sound is coming from his transmission he has serious problems. That sound is the flywheel and you can hear it when he uses the front electric motors. The non-hybrid GT3 sounds totally different to this.